They're creepy and they're kooky and they’re headed to Bass Hall. BY
ELAINE WILDER
METROPOLIS
Punking patrons is a big reason scare actors do what they do at haunted attractions.
BY MARK HENRICKS
Step up your festive-meal game with Mom’s Monster Foot Meatloaf.
BY JESS DELAROSA SCREEN
Though flawed, Frankenstein is a fright to behold. BY KRISTIAN LIN
LAST CALL
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Zombie Crack, a witchy pub crawl, and more are on tap. BY JENNIFER
It’s healthy and festive. And totes creepy. It’s Mom’s Monster Foot Meatloaf.
By Jess DeLaRosa
Jered Parker Harlan’s Parker Hill is a long-awaited rootsy debut worth the wait.
By
Juan R. Govea
What cultural costumes can and can’t be togged has changed in just a few short years.
By Mark Henricks
The North Texas Ghostbusters have created their own video game for Nintendo’s Game Boy.
By Danny Gallagher 5
Editor: Anthony Mariani
Publisher: Lee Newquist
General Manager: Bob Neihoff
Art Director: Ryan Burger
Marketing Director: Jennifer Bovee
Regional Director: Michael Newquist
Sr. Account Executive: Stacey Hammons
Account Manager: Julie Strehl
Account Executives: Tony Diaz, Wendy Maier, Sarah Neihoff, Wyatt Newquist
Proofreader: Emmy Smith
Brand Ambassador: Clint “Ironman” Newquist
E.R. Bills, Jennifer Bovee, Jason Brimmer, Jess Delarosa, Buck D. Elliott, Danny Gallagher, Juan R. Govea, Mark Henricks, Patrick Higgins, Kristian Lin, Cody Neatherly, Rush Olson, Wyatt Newquist, Emmy Smith, Steve Steward, Teri Webster, Ken Wheatcroft-Pardue, Elaine Wilder, Cole Williams
Laurie James, Anthony Mariani, Emmy Smith,
Like nearly every other protest across the country, Fort Worth’s was peaceful and powerful.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY STEPHEN CERVANTES
Through rain and shine, Fort Worthians filled Burk Burnett Park yesterday for the city’s second No Kings protest of the year. Organizers with the progressive group Indivisible 12 estimated between 7,000 and 8,000 attendees, the largest protest in Fort Worth’s history. The rally was part of similar rallies across the country. Estimates indicate that nearly 7 million
Americans participated in more than 2,500 cities and towns. By most accounts, every rally was peaceful.
Throughout the march downtown, protesters carried signs calling for the protection of democracy, comparing the president to other fascist leaders, and demanding the release of the Epstein files.
Like other recent protests across the country, a few Fort Worthians wore inflatable costumes of both real and mythical creatures — a trend popularized by the viral TikTok of cops pepper-spraying the Portland Frog at an ICE protest.
While the national No Kings movement originated to challenge the rise of fascism within the federal government, community speakers brought the importance of local issues to the forefront.
EJ Carrion, host of 817 Podcast, addressed the recent restrictions to city council public comment meetings. “We can now only speak at council 10 times. Imagine you having a problem and you gotta find the one time you can speak, maybe that month.”
Patrice Jones, activist and founder of Southside Community Gardens, pointed out the lack of representative leadership in the majority-minority city, stating, “Our local leadership continues to reflect the few, not the many. … City leaders smile in our faces while they dismantle accountability and erase empathy.”
Alisa Simmons, County Commissioner for Precinct 2, said, “You’ve watched these clowns systematically dismantle the social safety net in this
county that took generations, generations to build,” referencing cuts to hospital budgets, the elimination of health and human services departments, and the local shutdown of 125 polling places.
Other speakers included City Councilman Chris Nettles, Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier, activist Chris Tackett, and others.
Whether discussing Mayor Mattie Parker’s ties to conservative church Mercy Culture, the high rate of inmate deaths in Tarrant County Jail with little accountability, County Judge Tim O’Hare’s gerrymandering, or unconstitutional ICE detentions, the message across all speakers was consistent — get involved in local government, encourage others to do the same, and vote like democracy depends on it. l
Jered Parker Harlan’s long-time-coming debut album arrives.
BY JUAN R. GOVEA
Jered Parker Harlan is finally debuting an album. As a guitarist, he’s been a part of the Fort Worth music scene for years, playing with acts like Denver Williams, Levi Ray Band, Zac Stokes Band, and Mega Chief. Now, he’s tackling the rootsy singer-songwriter thing, and Parker Hill is his first release.
“It’s taken a while to get this album out, because I wanted it to be special and done right,” Harlan said. “It’s an important album to me, and it’s a dream come true.”
Recorded at Fort Worth Sound (Toadies, Pat Green, Justin Pollard), produced, mixed, and mastered by studio owner Bart Rose, Parker Hill features contributions from bassist Aden Bubeck (Miranda Lambert), fiddler Ben McPherson, multi-instrumentalist Kerry Moore, and drummer Josh Rodgers.
“I always wanted to get the family band together for many years now,” Harlan said. “My dad lives out of state, and we’ve done some jams in the past before but never something like this. It’s a musical reunion for the whole family.”
Some of Parker Hill indeed has a family-get-together kind of vibe. The single “Sweet Tea” and songs like “Take It Slow” are ready for gathering around the radio, while tracks like “Getting By” are about overcoming hard times.
“Most of my songwriting is about working through personal issue in life or working through challenges in life and becoming stronger for it,” Harlan said. “It’s a fun album. All the songs are personally selected and special to me.”
Harlan also said he enjoyed working with the musicians. “I’ve worked with them before, and they’re really talented.”
For live performances, including an
“I really wanted to get into a local Fort Worth studio,” Harlan said. “I’ll probably be recording with [Fort Worth Sound] again. I was interviewing a lot of studios in the area to support the local music scene.”
LP release party in Grand Prairie Thursday, Harlan will be joined onstage by his family: on lead guitar father Joel Harlan, a former Texas Tornado; on drums brother Ben Harlan; on bongos brother Shawn Harlan; and on bass Uncle Frank Harlan.
As an independent artist, Harlan funded Parker Hill and said he’s already working on new material for a second album. “Hopefully some of these deeply personal songs will relate to someone through perseverance and make someone feel good. What I want to accomplish with this album is to also put my stamp on a really great music scene in Fort Worth, and maybe I can put a smile on someone’s face when they’re having a bad day.” l
They’re creepy, they’re kooky, and they’re headed to Bass Hall.
BY ELAINE WILDER
In my experience, if you gather three generations of your kinfolk and talk them into attending an event together, someone is always unhappy. Me. I’m someone. When marketing folks tout something as “perfect for all ages,” it’s rarely true, but The Addams Family production at Bass Hall this weekend may be different — while Grandma may be aware of the original comic strip or have seen 1960s TV show, Little Suzy and Johnny Jr. no doubt know the popular Netflix spinoff.
The clan was created by cartoonist Charles Addams, who was fascinated with all things eccentric and macabre. The Addamses — father Gomez, mother Morticia, and their children Wednesday and Pugsley, plus Uncle Fester and Grandmama — made their debut in single-panel cartoons in The New Yorker in 1938. Their humor springs from the family’s bizarre tastes and those of their household staff — including the towering Lurch and the ever-handy Thing — as these characters navigate the world oblivious to just how peculiar they are. Their appeal lies in their gleefully subversive spin on the “ideal” American family. Over the years, The Addams Family has been reimagined countless times — from the TV series to the 1991 film with Anjelica Huston, Raúl Juliá, and Christina Ricci and the hit Broadway musical and 2019 animated film.
And then there’s Wednesday. With the second season of the massively popular Netflix series streaming now, actor Jenna Ortega brings a refreshing edge to the iconic character, engaging a whole new generation — including our film critic. Kristian Lin describes Ortega’s Wednesday as a polyglot, cello-playing, kung fu-kicking, colonialism-bashing goth girl who faces down the scariest monsters with expressionless sangfroid, then dances like nobody is watching.
“In the pantheon of sociopathic TV antiheroes, I’ll take her over Tony Soprano, Walter White, or Tommy Shelby,” Lin writes. “She’s less obsessed with money and power and consequently a lot more fun.”
Building on Wednesday’s success, Big League Productions brings The Addams Family back to the stage, this time as a comedic musical. Here, Wednesday is all grown up and in love with an honest, bright, “normal” young man — whom
her parents have yet to meet. Wednesday confides in her dad, making him swear not to tell mom Morticia, and for the first time, Gomez must keep a secret from his beloved wife. It’s essentially Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner — but creepy and kooky. l
For most scare actors, the fun is not in the money (or lack thereof) but in making patrons pee themselves out of fear.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARK HENRICKS
Night begins to fall outside a dilapidated 80-yearold former warehouse on Chester Street when a call echoes through the dimly lit, cavernous interior: “Turn out the lights! Let’s go!”
That’s Sabian Hernandez’s cue to heft his chainsaw, adjust his mask, and stretch to his full height of well over 8 feet. Striding into the gathering darkness, he swings the buzzing blade menacingly at people lined up along a wall.
It’s the start of another shift for Hernandez and 30 other scare actors at Junkyard Haunted House, located on a backstreet behind the Southside headquarters of the Humane Society of North Texas. As the night gets underway, Hernandez reveals himself as a man who loves his work.
Perched atop 3-foot-tall stilts, clad in a tight striped costume, and wearing a black-and-white mask that Gene Simmons would approve of, Hernandez lunges energetically toward patrons waiting to enter the haunted house. Some cower before the roaring saw — actually a harmless prop — while others capture the scene on phones.
On any weekend night in October, hundreds of other scare actors across North Texas are similarly gesticulating, making faces, tottering like zombies, uttering ghastly screams and weird laughs, and otherwise plying their craft. Many work long hours, usually for no pay, often wearing hot and heavy costumes and not infrequently fending off rowdy and disrespectful customers. The actors say it’s all worth it.
“It’s a feeling you can’t explain,” Hernandez said of scare acting, also known as “haunt acting” or simply “haunting.” “Most people will never understand it — the fun of putting real fear into people.”
What does real fear look like?
Hernandez paused. “They pee,” he finally said, “or they take off running.”
For Hernandez, this sort of fun runs in the family — both his parents worked at Cutting Edge, the venerable Fort Worth fright attraction recently voted the nation’s top haunted house in a contest run by USA Today. With a decade at the gig, he’s practically an elder statesman on the local scare-actor scene.
Fellow Junkyard haunter Vanna Ryan plays a character clad in a torn white dress, adorned with
dripping blood-red makeup, and named Mallory Chambers. Like most scare actors, Ryan created her own backstory to give her character depth.
“She was a girl who dared to break into an attraction at night,” Ryan said. “She didn’t make it out, and now she’s one of the monsters.”
As Mallory, Ryan lurks atop an old refrigerator and lunges down to claw at the faces of patrons squeezing through a narrow passageway. Shifts can be long.
“There have been nights when I’ve acted until 3 a.m.,” she said, and she drives nearly two hours each way to work from her home in Sanger.
None of this is too much sacrifice for Ryan, who dabbled with traditional acting before trying haunting. “I fell in love and decided this was the kind of acting I want to do.”
Part of the fun is the freedom. Scare actors typically have no script to work with, so improvisation is the rule.
Scare acting can produce income as well as fulfillment — Junkyard Haunted House pays actors $100 a night — but most performers labor for love alone. In fact, Ryan says this is her first paid scaring job, after nine years of volunteering at other scare attractions.
Junkyard owner Ricardo Hernandez (no relation to Sabian) said he was surprised to learn that most venues, including some of the area’s bestknown, expect actors to work for free.
“We’ve always paid our employees,” said Hernandez, who also operates a Junkyard Haunted House in Dallas.
In Fort Worth, scores of people queued up to pay $25 a head within minutes of opening time on this mid-October evening. The fee is slightly less than at other venues, but seemingly even a lower-priced haunted house can produce ample black ink.
“I’ve been grabbed and hit,” Ryan said.
Sometimes, she said, this happens when surprised customers reflexively throw up a protective hand and accidentally contact a performer who pops up without warning.
At times, the physicality goes further and descends into intentional and even sustained violence.
“The girls, unfortunately, get groped,” Sabian said.
Not surprisingly, actors hope for more from their workplaces. Ryan has recently formed a group to advocate for better working conditions in scare attractions.
Risk to actors varies by venue. A performer at Six Flags Fright Fest says the theme park has security personnel who will respond quickly to an actor’s call for help. However, sometimes the damage is already done.
“We had someone who got knocked out cold when somebody punched her,” said the actor, who is not being named because she didn’t have the venue’s permission to speak.
“It’s a good business,” Hernandez said. “It’s a very good business.”
Behind the profit, it’s not all gore and games. Ryan says that in addition to long hours of usually volunteer labor, haunters must cope with significant on-the-job hazards. These can include respiratory ailments caused by inadequately disinfected fog machines, lack of water breaks to hydrate, and frequent physical abuse from unruly patrons.
Whether they work at one of the more desirable venues, such as Junkyard and Six Flags, that pay actors and provide breaks and responsive security or a volunteer gig where performers get fewer of both niceties and necessities, scare actors need to be physically robust. Six Flags’ job description includes constant standing, talking, climbing, reaching, stooping, crouching, bending, kneeling, and other activities.
More unusual talents may also be called for. Sliders, for example, are specialist actors who wear knee pads and armored gloves and slide across floors to frighten guests. Being a little wild probably won’t hurt. The popular Bedford haunted house Moxley Manor advertised job openings with the tag: “We’re looking for actors and makeup artists to help us scare the cr*p out of our victims.”
All this must be done wearing costumes weighing up to 20 pounds, often including masks, wigs, gloves, thick makeup, and little ventilation.
“My costume is really heavy and stiff,” the Six Flags actor said. “At the end of the night, all of us can hardly walk to our cars.”
If this sounds appealing, getting a gig as a scare actor is likely possible, even for beginners. Auditions, which usually happen in late summer, tend to be relaxed. Especially at voluntary venues, nearly anyone willing and able can get onboard.
Hours can reach 40 a week or more when houses start scaring seven days a week as Oct. 31 approaches. And some run from September through early December. A few open other times of year for Friday the 13th or Bloody Valentine shows.
However, generally speaking, this is parttime seasonal work that actors do either as a brief annual dramatic endeavor or as one of a variety of jobs throughout the year. That describes Sabian Hernandez.
“I’m the Easter Bunny, I do Uncle Sam, I do birthday parties,” he said. “Last year, I was part of the Dallas Christmas parade. I’m an entertainer.”
Then Sabian smiled, pulled on his mask, picked up his saw, and headed out to see if he could make somebody wet their pants. l
If you walk into Harris’ store on Camp Bowie Boulevard today, you’ll find racks groaning under theatrical costumes depicting characters from the cultures of Native Americans, the Middle East, and many other places. You’ll find makeup that will let you tint your skin any color you like — and, if you appear ready to cross a cultural line, you’ll also get some gentle guidance.
costumes are OK as long as they’re respectful — and don’t cross the line.
BY MARK HENRICKS
When Fort Worth’s oldest costumer opened in 1949, state law required separate Black and white seating on buses. Poll taxes and prison terms for interracial marriage were also on the books. This was 22 years after Al Jolson performed in Blackface in The Jazz Singer , eight years after the infamous crows scene marred Disney’s and a dozen years before Mickey Rooney donned yellowface as Mr. Yunioshi in at Tiffany’s
Back then, the issue of cultural appro priation likely wasn’t on the radar at Harris Costumes, which then specialized in dressing C&W musicians, or anywhere else. Times have changed. Now, it pays to be careful what you sport for Halloween — or even what you suggest others wear. Just ask Megyn Kelly, who was bounced from NBC in 2019 after defending a white actor who darkened her skin before going as Diana Ross to a Halloween party.
“We’ve had people come in who are obvious about wanting to be someone of a different race,” says Lauren Rachall, a 15-year employee of the store who specializes in Beauty and the Beast costumes. “I try to steer them toward something different.”
For Halloween revelers aiming to avoid offense, it may not be enough to eschew skin-darkening. Cultural appropriation happens
Beginning Sunday September 28, we’re adjusting the schedules of some Trinity Metro Bus routes to make our system more e cient. Plan ahead and check your route now to see if your schedule is changing at RIDETRINITYMETRO.org/SERVICECHANGES.
“Influenced” by TV, we found a couple local spots for social-media creativity.
BY ELAINE WILDER
I’ve always been a sucker for procedural dramas. With the end of Blue Bloods and the Donnie Wahlberg spinoff Boston Blue having not quite started yet, I was prompted by my old friend Hulu to check out High Potential. While streaming the latest episode, “Content Warning,” something grabbed my attention. Morgan and the Major Crimes team are sent to solve the case of a social media stunt gone wrong, causing the death of an investigative reporter undercover in a content
house as an influencer. While my subconscious was absorbing this trash television programming, my brain heard, “Blah, blah, blah content house blah, blah.”
“Wait, what?” I asked my cat, as my husband wasn’t home. Turns out that content houses are nothing new, just new to me.
Influencers and their, well, influence obviously aren’t new either. They took off in the mid-tolate 2000s and early 2010s, evolving from earlier “internet personalities” on platforms like MySpace and blogs. The modern influencer landscape, heavily reliant on visual platforms like Instagram, became integral to marketing by the mid-2010s. We even have a Social Influencer category in our annual Best Of edition. Former winners include That Texas Couple (@ThatTexasCouple), photographer Rambo Elliott (@RamboElliott), Ramiro “Milo” Ramirez of Salsa Limon, and activist/musician/scribe Ken Shimamoto.
An early example of a content-type house was in Big Brother and the still-active franchise that the 1999 reality TV show inspired. But the first true content houses emerged around 2012, with notable early examples like Our2ndLife house in Encino, California, and the FaZe Clan house in Los Angeles, where YouTubers lived together to collaborate on content. The Creature House in Littleton, Colorado, also appeared in 2012. The concept gained more widespread recognition in 2015 with the 1600 VINE apartment community in Hollywood, California.
Content houses can be art houses and vice-versa. Fort Worth has its share of creative and event spaces, like Keith House, which hosts immersive art, and Black House, a home for events. This time of year, some even become seasonal attractions. North Texas has two.
Fort Worth to find a resolution that makes our project more comfortable for all. Our goal is not to be a nuisance but to showcase the artistic potential of what many consider ‘junk.’ We believe that art can be found in the most unexpected places, and we are committed to being a positive, collaborative part of the Fort Worth community.”
As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad press, so Junkyard is leaning in. They have nicknamed themselves “The Nightmare on Sylvan and Chester: so terrifying, local news called it ‘too controversial’!”
Junkyard Content House encourages you to “capture the terror” at Junkyard Haunted House. Cameras, flash photography, videos, and all other forms of documentation are welcome. Tag @ JunkyardHauntedHouse and use the hashtag #JunkyardHauntedHouse.
Along with being a prime spot for content creation, the Junkyard Content House is currently operating as the “Junkyard Haunted House” in Fort Worth (2700 Sylvan Av) and Dallas (2423 Chester St) 8pm-midnight Fri-Sat and 8pm-10pm Sun this weekend and next. Admission is $25 via cash, Venmo, or Cash App at the door or via presale at FortWorthHauntedHouseTX.com. Parking is “free for all brave souls.”
The haunted houses’ existence doesn’t sit well with some, even though this is a project launched by a family-owned business called Junk Guys DFW. Fort Worth neighbors complained that the art space was “too controversial” and a “neighborhood nightmare.” They purportedly found the artistic use of trash a bit unsettling. After the complaints, Junkyard issued a statement on social media: “ We are working directly with the City of
If a content house is a thing, then what you have at Pumpkin Nights at Howell Farms (4016 W Division St, Arlington) is a content park. There are food stands and nightly fire-eater shows, but beyond that, it’s just acres and acres of the most epic Halloween photo-ops you’ve ever seen. Organizers describe Pumpkin Nights as a different kind of fall experience, one that skips the scares in favor of creativity and wonder and provides a space where Halloween becomes art.
Journeying through the grounds on foot will bring you to themed fantasylands with largerthan-life installations and detailed sculptures, all built from more than 7,500 hand-carved pumpkins. A half-mile path winds through 10 immersive pumpkin lands, like the fiery Forbidden City and the swashbuckling Pirate’s Cove. The park is open daily now thru Sun, Nov 2, with various arrival times available. Tickets start at $22 at PumpkinNights.com. l
Spooky things are happening this week. Here are my favorites for the days leading up to Halloween, a big idea to consider, and some ideas for those staying home. Enjoy!
While neighboring Grapevine has a stronghold on Christmas, Denton is now the self-proclaimed “Halloween Capital of Texas.” For a rundown of their 31 Days of Halloween happenings, visit DentonHalloween.com.
Burk Burnett Park (501 W 7th St, Fort Worth, 817-870-1692) will be the site of a family-film night with a special screening of Hotel Transylvania at 7pm. Free parking is provided on the upper floor of the First on 7th Garage (625 Burnett St, Fort Worth, 682-7476991). There is no cost to attend, just bring your own blanket.
Located on the grounds of Scarborough Renaissance Festival (I-35 at FM 66, Waxahachie, 972-938-3247), Screams Halloween Park has been open during the spooky season for the past 28 years. It was announced last winter that the 2024 season was to be
its last. This fall, it’s set to reopen with a new concept called Scarborough’s Hollow: A Fall Fantasy Festival Open Saturdays thru Nov 15 2pm-10pm (plus 5pm-midnight Halloween night), it’s “an unforgettable interactive journey through the enchanted Scarborough’s Hollow transformed by three fairy sisters and filled with magic, mischief, and Autumn wonder.” There will still be at least one haunted house to check out, but there will also be artisan shops, a funhouse, live entertainment, a petting zoo, and promises of seasonal fun with a touch of spooky delight. Tickets start at $17 for adults and $6 for kids. For tickets and times, activity reservations, and add-ons, visit SRFestival. com/hollow.
The Happy Pet Project, a Grapevine-based animal rescue organization, invites you to join them at Cicada Canines HowlO-Ween Barket at The Cicada (1002 S Main St, Fort Worth, @The_Cicada_FTW ). From 2pm to 6pm, meet some adoptable dogs while partaking in craft cocktails, food trucks, and shopping with local vendors. There is no cost to attend.
Another, more personal option for today for the death-obsessed is to do your own Cemetery Scavenger Hunt. TalkDeath (@TalkDeathDaily), an online hub for “death-conscious conversation,” is hosting one today. How does it work? Go to your favorite local cemetery around 1:15pm, wait for clues to be posted on their social media and website at 1:30pm, then explore the cemetery within 45 minutes, looking for monuments that match the clues. When you find a clue, take a selfie with it (include your hand or something to identify it as you in all photos), and upload your found clues to a form provided at TalkDeath.com. Winners will be announced an hour later. Prizes will be awarded to the first person who finds 13 clues. While there is no cost to participate, it’s worth noting that this group does a lot of work for nonprofits restoring old cemeteries that need refreshing.
Celebrate Día de los Muertos at Fort Worth Botanic Garden (3220 Botanic Garden Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-463-4160) from noon to 5pm. There will be a Catrinas procession, live performances, and marigold displays. There is no cost to attend.
Maple Branch Craft Brewery (2628 Whitmore St, Fort Worth, 817-862-7007) is hosting Spooky Music Bingo at 7pm. There will be four rounds of bingo played to a soundtrack of favorite Halloween songs, and each round comes with prizes. There is no cost to attend.
Toro Toro (200 Main St, Fort Worth, 817-875-9895) is hosting Under the Moon, a dining experience that fuses Día de los Muertos with culinary expertise. From 5pm to 10pm, there’s a three-course meal by celebrity chef Richard Sandoval. The meal honors the connection between the spirit world and the living. There will also be a face painter, live music, and a special surprise performer. The cost is $150 per person. For reservations, call the restaurant.
Emerald City Lounge (937 Woodward St, Fort Worth, 817238-3025), this year’s winner for Best Place to Buy CBD/THC in Best Of 2025, hosts “puff and paint” events most Thursdays. Today, the theme is Queen Catrina. Starting at 7pm, you can paint an 11x14 canvas or a ceramic sugar skull lantern that includes an LED tealight. The cost is $15 per person. Register at occ.sn/pmzb4kMQ.
Now is the time to decide. Do you go big or go home? For those looking for a big-time Halloween activity, the Vintage Flying Museum (505 NW 38th St, Ste 33S, Fort Worth, 817-624-1935) is the place to be. Starting at 8pm, Greatest Generation Aircraft, a nonprofit dedicated to keeping history alive, is hosting Halloween Flights on the Southern Cross (DC3), which will be decorated for the occasion and taking flight for tours over North Texas. Tickets are $150 per person gga1.org/calendar with proceeds benefiting local veterans. Group discounts are available.
If you’re staying home, just remember: Those gangly, shy teenagers stopping by late and not wearing costumes made a choice to embrace a childhood tradition one last time before the adulting takes hold. Just be kind and turn over the candy
By Jennifer Bovee
Ready for some creepy comfort food? Step right this way.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JESS DELAROSA
Do you love meatloaf? How about Halloween? In this spooky dinner, I’m bringing both to the table. This comfort meal is perfect to prep the night before the festivities and goes into the oven once the tricks and treats are done.
Like most busy moms, I don’t enjoy driving to three stores for fancy ingredients or special pans. We stretch our grocery budget as far as possible,
and meatloaf is one of those meals that helps me do it. It’s my favorite way to use up any leftover vegetables before they grow fur, switch up the sauces with what’s on hand, and sneak in extra nutrition for picky eaters.
Ground beef makes the perfect medium for sculpting all kinds of gross body parts. We shaped ours into a monster “foot” fit for a horror movie. For the ankle bone, I used a large carrot and shaped the ground beef mixture around it, which added
flavor and a subtle sweetness to the finished product. You can find my recipe below which includes my signature ingredient swap: crushed butter crackers instead of breadcrumbs.
To complete the look, bell pepper “toenails” added a whimsical touch to a rather grotesque display. You could swap them for onions for an even more realistic look. Broiling the meatloaf for the last five minutes of cook time gives the “foot” a charred, scaly look. In fact, my teenager found
the result positively repulsive. The possibilities to customize and create your own edible body parts are endless.
Spiderwebbed baked mashed potatoes were the perfect friendly companion to the gruesome main dish. Meat and potatoes are my husband’s favorite comfort food, so of course I had to dress up the spuds with some whimsy. After boiling and assembling the mashed potatoes, I topped them with smoked sausage and cheese and popped them continued on page 19
continued from page 17
in the oven just until the cheese melted. Once the dish was cooled, I piped on the spider web pattern using sour cream.
Lastly, and my kids’ favorite part: homemade corn nuggets, inspired by their beloved
Chicken Express ones. To stay on theme, I added some spooky sour cream “eyes.” The iris was a drop of food coloring applied with a toothpick, and they were the first to disappear. This dinner was a hit with the kids and a fun way to celebrate Halloween through food. The reactions from the little (and not so little) ones made the food taste even better. Getting creative with what’s on hand reminds us that you don’t have to break the bank or your back to add a little whimsy to your world. l
Mom’s Monster Foot Meatloaf
Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garlic (fresh, minced, or powder — whatever you have on hand)
1 onion, any color, diced
One sprinkle of rosemary
One sprinkle of thyme
Shape the monster foot:
Place the carrot on your baking sheet to act as the ankle bone. Mold the meat mixture around it into the shape of a large foot, pressing gently to form toes.
Add the toenails: Cut small pieces of bell pepper and press them onto the tips of each “toe.”
A dash of Tony’s Creole seasoning
3 packs of round butter crackers, crushed (instead of breadcrumbs)
2 eggs
2 bell peppers, any color (for “toenails”)
Any leftover veggies you need to use up (finely chopped)
1 large carrot (for the “ankle bone”)
A splash of Worcestershire, barbecue sauce, A1, and/ or your sauce preference
1/2 cup of ketchup to coat the top of the “foot”
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment for easy cleanup.
Mix it all up: In a large bowl, combine ground beef, seasonings, onion, crushed crackers, eggs, and any leftover veggies. Use your hands to mix until everything is evenly combined.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes to help the “foot” cook evenly and keep its texture.
Remove the foil and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
For extra texture, broil for the last 5 minutes to create a charred, scaly look.
Let rest for 10 minutes before serving to help it hold its shape.
The “foot” may fall apart a bit after cooking, but that only adds to the spooky, fresh-from-the-grave effect!
For an even eerier look, spoon a little ketchup or barbecue sauce around the edges before broiling.
Onions can be used instead of bell peppers for a more “realistic” look.
From the recent release of The Life of a Showgirl to the frogs of Portland, this year’s array of Halloween costumes is sure to be inspired by current events. Even if you’re not a joiner, do some people-watching at some great spooky-season parties around town. Here are some hot spots to consider.
Kick off your Halloween early with a movie night at TX Whiskey Ranch (2601 Whiskey Ranch Rd, Fort Worth, 817-840-9140). From 6pm to 9pm, there will be an outdoor screening of the 2003 remake of the horror classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in which a group of young travelers come across an isolated rural home while driving through Texas. Unfortunately for them, the decrepit house is the residence of a family of deranged backwoods killers, most notably the hulking masked brute Leatherface, who begins to hunt the stranded youths. Will any of the friends survive the nightmarish ordeal? Bring your own blankets and chairs and find out. There will be a food truck on-site selling snacks and a tarot card reader available for complimentary sessions. Admission to this 21+ event includes the movie and your first cocktail. Tickets are $10 at TXWhiskey.com. Doors open at 6pm, and the movie starts at 7pm sharp.
Head back to TX Whiskey Ranch for its annual Costumes & Cocktails event. From noon to 5pm, there will be complimentary axe-throwing by Fort Worth Axe Factory, plus a DJ. Then at 3pm, there is a costume contest with lots of prizes, including the grand prize of a TX Whiskey barrel. (Must be present to win.)
Tickets are $15 at TXWhiskey.com.
For the 10th year in a row, HopFusion Ale Works (200 E Broadway Av, Fort Worth, 682-841-1721) has made its seasonal Zombie Crack, and the release party is from noon to 11pm. This popular 10.48% stout was aged for months in bourbon barrels, then re-aged on honey-roasted pecans. Along with enjoying it on-site via drafts, to-go cans will be available. A limited run of themed glassware is also available while supplies last.
Martin House Brewing Company (220 S Sylvania Av, Ste 209, Fort Worth, 817-222-0177) is hosting its annual Booery Bash from noon to 5pm. This year’s theme is Super Mario Bros., so dress accordingly. The three costume contests — adults, animals, and kids — happen at 2:30pm by the patio stage. Along with the nearly 30 beers on tap, there will be four special beers while supplies last, including two that are Super Mario Bros. themed: Devo Chamber: Evolve (7% slushie) and Devo Chamber: De-Evolve (12% whiskey-based stout). Both are bangers. More info to come on that. Want to win some treats? Try your hand at the giant fishing wall out back. Throw a cast and see if you can catch a bite. Oh Balls! Food Truck will be on hand, plus there will be live music and a magician. For $25, you can purchase a wristband at the door that covers you on a souvenir glass and four 12-oz pours of any beers on the wall. The event is free for those not drinking.
What’s Up 817, a social club that frequents Fort Worth-centric businesses and events, is hosting
If we go to Pappasito’s again before the month’s end, we’re ordering a margarita and taking home a keepsake luchador mug.
Cowboys & Sundresses: A 30-and-Up Day Party from 4pm to 8pm at Tia’s on the Bluff (1301 E Bluff St, Fort Worth, 817-420-9000). Wear your best cowboy boots and favorite sundresses to say goodbye to summer in style. There is no cover charge, and the drink specials include $7 Crown-and-downs, $5 margaritas, and more. You can RSVP on Eventbrite.com.
Altar Egos Social Club (Bit.ly/ AltarEgosSocialClub) — a roaming pop-up group that brings celestial vibes, ritual toasts, and tarot reading to local nightclubs — is hosting the Fort Worth Witch’s Pub Crawl 6:30pm-10:30pm. Planned stops include the starting location of Hogan Alley (901 Houston St, Ste 102, Fort Worth, 817-484-4791), followed by visits to Basic Bar ( 904 Houston St, Fort Worth, @BasicBarFW), The Archibald Bar (902 Houston St, Fort Worth, 817-3864762), and Refinery 714 at the Kimpton Harper Hotel (714 Main St, Fort Worth, 817-332-7200), plus a group photo stop in Sundance Square. There will be drink specials, signature cocktails, and toasts at each place. Witchy costumes are encouraged. There is no cost to participate, just pay your own tabs. And tip generously.
A night of underwater terror begins at 6pm at Tarantula Tiki Lounge (117 S Main St, Fort Worth, @ Tarantula_Tiki). Haunted Grotto Under the Sea will feature a vendor market 6pm-10pm, plus live music by Daughters of Evil at 9pm, The S.S. Castaways at 8pm, and Prof. Fuzz 63 at 7pm. There is no cover for this 21+ event. Martin House Brewing Company (220 S Sylvania Av, Ste 209, Fort Worth, 817-222-0177) is also hosting a Halloween vendor market. From 4pm to 10pm, Moonlit Markets, an event organizer specializing in open-air markets showcasing unique vendors selling artisanal goods, will be on the back patio with 60+ local makers, treats, and tricks. Costumes are definitely encouraged. There will be a costume contest, giveaways, and live music 6pm-10pm. Admission is free. Daiquiri Lounge (7420 McCart Av, Ste 100, Fort Worth, 817-809-8423) is having its Halloween Bash from 9pm to 2am. DJ Crazy A is spinning tunes, and there will be a costume contest for cash prizes for first and second place. (Note: No masks allowed). There is a $5 cover, but parking is free.
As chains go, regional favorite Pappasito’s Cantina is a good one. (Sue me. I like what I like.) The hubs and I frequent there on Wednesdays as they have an all-inclusive fajita deal that fits the budget and the taste budget quite nicely. When we hit the Arlington location for my birthday this year, I indulged in a slice of the best dessert I’ve ever had: their version of a Tres Leches cake. If we go again before the month’s end, I’m ordering a margarita and taking home a keepsake luchador mug. You must purchase food (check), you must be 21 years of age with valid ID (check, check), and all alcoholic beverages must be transported in a non-passenger compartment of your vehicle (passenger drinks, driver shuts his piehole got it). Teetotalers, or anyone else for that matter, are welcome to purchase the mugs for $10 apiece. l
By Jennifer Bovee
BY KRISTIAN LIN
Guillermo del Toro’s version of Frankenstein plays in local theaters for two weeks before coming to Netflix, and there’s a great deal to like about it. For one thing, it looks amazing, and while you could say that about all of Del Toro’s films, this is more resplendent than anything of his since 2015’s Crimson Peak
For another thing, it includes the second part of Mary Shelley’s novel, in which the monster tells his side of the story. This part, which is absent from all other adaptations of Frankenstein that I’m aware of, has a number of good effects. For one thing, it makes sense out of the framing story about a Norwegian sea captain (Lars Mikkelsen) who’s hellbent on reaching the North Pole before he runs across both Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and the creature (Jacob Elordi) on the polar ice caps.
Elordi is the very tall British actor who has done great as an atrocious human being on TV’s Euphoria, but he has never popped on the big screen like this before, despite his roles in Saltburn and On Swift Horses. Here he comes alive as a creature feeling loneliness and pain for the first time in his existence and who moves delicately because he knows how easily he can hurt the people around him.
Alongside him, David Bradley does tremendously as the blind old man who teaches the creature how to be human, while Christoph Waltz injects a welcome note of sleaze as a German arms dealer who bankrolls Victor because he’s dying and wants Frankenstein to find a cure for death.
As for the visuals, cinematographer Dan Laustsen and production designer Tamara Deverell bring a Hammer Studios-like lushness to the settings, with Victor’s beloved Elizabeth (Mia Goth) frequently wearing shades of blue and green against backgrounds of red and orange. Speaking of which, the costumes do more than pull their weight, too, with Victor frequently wearing a flamboyant widebrimmed hat reminiscent of Goethe in Tischbein’s famous painting, which befits a character who thinks of himself as a great genius.
For all this, why am I sitting in my theater seat unmoved? I will confess to experiencing flashbacks to Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, Bill Condon’s Gods and Monsters, Lucky McKee’s May, and other
riffs on the story while I was watching this, but I don’t think I’m burned out on the story. Is it because Del Toro includes too much of Mary Shelley’s prose as voiceover narration when it isn’t needed?
Or maybe it’s just that, for all the energy and theatrical flair that Isaac brings to Frankenstein, the title character doesn’t pop the way Del Toro’s greatest villains do. (To wit: Sergi López’ fascist ideologue in Pan’s Labyrinth, Jessica Chastain’s incestuous serial killer in Crimson Peak, and Michael Shannon’s racist technocrat in The Shape of Water.) The twisted relationship between Victor and his creation should be a horrifying spiral of mutual destruction, and that feeling doesn’t come across here.
Despite that, I find Frankenstein a more rewarding experience than last year’s Nosferatu, and its visuals and scope are well worth taking in on the big screen. You should catch it during its theatrical run, which doesn’t figure
to last long for reasons that have little to do with its cinematic merits. Netflix has seemingly been out to kill off the theatrical experience of movies with the goal of putting everything in your TV. Whatever you might think of that aim, it appears to be preventing the streaming service from attaining its other goal of winning a Best Picture Oscar. A long run on a lot of screens might very well have boosted the awards chances of previous Netflix originals like Roma, The Irishman, or Marriage Story, and the same goes for this film. (Although, if Netflix really wants to win the Best Picture Oscar this year, they need to push all their chips onto KPop Demon Hunters. That movie’s back in theaters next week, by the way.) If only Netflix valued the experience of going to the multiplexes, they could immensely benefit us theatergoers as well as themselves. Maybe if a lot of people turn up at Frankenstein, it’ll change some minds over there. l
BY EMMY SMITH
Historical Association is back with the fourth installment of its historic home tour, the 2025 Parade of Homes, the largest fundraiser for the local nonprofit that seeks to sponsor
the nomination of Wedgwood as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.
This year’s tour features three homes that uniquely showcase the midcentury flair of one of the most established planned neighborhoods in Fort Worth, including a 1956 contemporary ranch with all its original interior, a 1964 international-inspired ranch, and a 1963 colonial ranch that has been artfully restored with period finishes following damage from a water main break. A first this year will be the opportunity to explore some of the neighborhood’s historic commercial spaces, including the former Wedgwood Theatre, which operated from 1967 until the mid-1990s. The tour will feature exterior and interior docent-guided tours of the properties. (Read more in Blotch at FWWeekly.com.)
Check-in will take place at the Wedgwood Shopping Village (5928 Trail Lake Dr), where tickets may also be purchased on the day of the event. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the parade (children 10 and younger are admitted free). The event is rain or shine, and no pets or strollers will be permitted. For more information or tickets, visit WedgwoodHistoricalAssociation.org.
North Texas Ghostbusters have built their own official video game for the Nintendo Game Boy.
BY DANNY GALLAGHER
Believe it or not, North Texas has a Ghostbusters franchise. No, it’s not a sign of the end times or a sudden spike in the amount of psychokinetic energy in North Texas the same size as a Hostess Twinkie approximately 35 feet long and weighing 600 pounds.
The North Texas Ghostbusters are a nonprofit fan group inspired by the film franchise and are one of many across the country known as “franchises,” who build screen-accurate uniforms, proton packs, and other specter-tracking and exterminating equipment. They also use their love for the films and prop-building by meeting and greeting the public to help raise money for charities and engage their communities.
Some franchises take their love for the films further than others, and that’s what the North Texas Ghostbusters do. Along with appearing at conventions and events with a full-size replica of ECTO-1, the long, modified 1959 Cadillac from the movies, the North Texas group also raffles off handbuilt pieces of equipment to raise money for charity. They’ve taken over downtown Denton’s Visitors Center & Gift Shop and remodeled the space to serve as their temporary headquarters during the city’s 31 Days of Halloween celebration.
Now, the franchise has their own video game for the portable Nintendo Game Boy system. The North Texas Ghostbusters is not a physical cartridge. It’s a ROM, a memory file that means
Zach Hidalgo, webmaster for the North Texas Ghostbusters, premiered the official Nintendo Game Boy game at their temporary headquarters in Denton’s Visitors Center & Gift Shop during the city’s 31 Days of Halloween celebration.
“Read-Only Memory,” that can be downloaded from GhostbustersNews.com and played on a Game Boy emulator on a computer or smartphone.
The local Ghostbuster who designed and built the game is Zach Hidalgo. The webmaster for the North Texas Ghostbusters had previous experience with the system, but “this is the first full game I’ve ever made.”
The North Texas Ghostbusters game puts players in control of Chris Uzzle, the president of the local franchise, sent on a call to a fancy hotel to rid it of the spooks, specters, and other nonliving entities haunting its hallways. It’s only one player, so there’s no risk of crossing streams.
“It all takes place in one big hotel,” Hidalgo said. “I thought it would be funny, and the layout makes no sense.”
The game is very tongue in cheek with funny dialogue that references other movies and games, and all the enemies are ghosts and monsters from other video games like King Boo from Super Mario Bros., metroids, and the ghosts from Pac-Man, who escaped from a cursed television. A Pokémon enemy also serves as the perfect stand-in for the terror dogs from the movies.
“I wanted enemies that people would recognize,” Hidalgo said. “I wanted little kids to be able to play it, too, so I wanted the levels to be very linear.”
Hidalgo said it took two and a half months to build a playable version. It was quite a challenge, even for a modded version of an old Ghostbusters game.
“In order to mod it, I had to basically tear down all the code to figure out how everything’s coded in,” he said.
Players walk around the hotel flinging proton streams at ghosts and other enemies to wear them down before throwing out a ghost trap to transfer them to the group’s custom-made storage facility.
Hidalgo said there were moments he thought he wouldn’t be able to build a workable game. He felt a great sense of relief and pride when he put the final pixel in place.
“It was a great feeling to know that it is playable because I was getting a little worried I might not have enough time,” he said. “Once I got to the point when it was playable, I was really hyped.”
Once he finished the game, the other members of the franchise got to take it for a spin. The group also premiered the game at its temporary Denton headquarters, where anyone can play the game through Halloween.
The North Texas Ghostbusters scored even more traction when Ghostbusters News uploaded the game to its site and posted a news item announcing its release, so fans and franchise members all over the country could play it.
“Everybody really likes it,” Hidalgo says. “I think it’s a silly little game. I didn’t think it would be this popular. It’s just really cool to see people really enjoy something I spent a lot of time to build.” l
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